Each month, new releases (in no particular order) are reviewed and posted
with
expresso10on the home
page If
you're part of studioexpresso's production
community , email
details of completed projects with SE producers/mixers/engineers
or studios --
Ride
On expresso10!

Peace and Happiness
to you and yours- 'tis the season!
During the holidays, the noise can get louder than desired.
Our schedules fill up... more people to visit, cards or gifts to send
and more to do! Turn the volume down. Breath deeply and make your short
list: Cook for someone you love, make time to visit the sick, offer food
to the homeless and sit by the fireplace and take an inventory of what's
positive in your life- celebrate who you are and become the spirit of
LOVE and HOPE today and every day. Speaking of which, we want to thank
all of you for your support. More to come from our community of top music
makers in 2011!

Join us at NAMM on
Friday Januaray 14, 1:30 pmstudioexpresso Presents Rock, Record and Roll at HOT ZONE
details below.

Although Hamilton
wasn't initially a big 500 Series fan, the musician has come to
change his tune. "I have loved the REDDI for a long time, but
I wasn't really sold on the 500 Series until I tried the P1. I picked
one up because I had used a Pacifica in the studio with Tony Shepperd
and really liked it. So I tried out a P1 and an EM-PEQ, because
the BAC-500 wasn't available at the time, and I literally fell in
love. That setup with the REDDI was fantastic. When I started recording
my upright with it, it was a done deal. For me, there was simply
no other way to go.

"Now I'm
fascinated by the variety of sonic coloration that A-Design's'
modules offer. Unlike some of the early Lunchbox units, the EM Series
and other modules--like the BAC-500 and new Electrodynes--all have
such a character. I don't want to play through so-called 'transparent'
DIs and outboard gear. That only makes me work harder because it
provides absolutely nothing. A-Designs saves me from the mundane."

Warner/Chappell
Signing. Warner/Chappell has signed a worldwide administration
agreement with The
Runners, the hit production team comprised of Jermaine "Mayne"
Jackson and Andrew "Dru Brett" Harr.
As part of the agreement, Warner/Chappell will administer both Jacksons
and Harrs interests in all of their future works and select
catalog titles.The Runners have built a solid reputation
as a leading hip-hop production team and have also achieved critical
and commercial successes in both Pop and R&B.
They work across an expanding range of musical styles and collaborated
on hit songs for a number of popular songwriters and producers,
including Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber, Rihanna,
T.I., Trey Songz, Rick Ross, Usher, Chris Brown, Akon, Keyshia Cole,
Fabolous, Ludacris and Mary J. Blige. Similar to their true production
idol, the legendary Dr. Dre, who created a style for an entire coast,
The Runners want to serve as the new Miami sound machine for an
entire region.

A great
room in a historical building with great equipment and a wonderful
piano is just the beginning at Firehouse. The personal attention
and the expertise of their people gets you from the first moment
on. So welcoming, friendly, and efficient. I love it.
--Oscar Castro-Neves on Firehouse
Studios

TEC Award-winner
and 2010 nominee* Vincent van Haaff has designed a luxury residential
recording studio for musician Timothy "Primal Jaimal"
Lovitt. The new eco-friendly studio sits on five acres overlooking
LA's famed Laurel Canyon, and will house a vintage Neotek analog
console, a 24 track Studer 827 Gold Series (the last one made) and
a treasure of vintage outboard gear, as well as a full complement
of Avid / Pro-Tools hardware, two vintage EMT reverb plates and
an EMT 250.

Architecture
of the project is handled by Gus Duffy Architect AIA, David Reith
(structural), Earth Systems Consultants So Cal (geotechnical), and
electrical is handled by Art Kelm (Ground One) and VME engineering.
"The big challenge here," explained van Haaff, "was
designing a complete recording studio and residence in one package.The
kitchen is accordingly furnished with professional grade equipment,
and a glass conservatory is convertible as a piano recording room
or guest room, with adjustable acoustics.

The METAlliance Second In Session Event
February 19-20, 2011 in NYC at famed Avatar
Studios.

METAlliance is a strategic union of music producers and engineers
dedicated to the highest standards of audio and delivery of music,
securing the art through recording technology in all its evolving
modern forms. Attendees will participate in four sessions, each
designed to provide different experiences in the recording process
and led by the founding members.

Over the past
six years, Hamilton has turned many other musicians, engineers and
producers on to A-Designs' REDDI, including fellow bassist and mentor
Stanley Clarke, Paul Jackson Jr., Tonight Show music director Rickey
Minor, producer/engineer Tony Shepperd, producer Matt Serletic,
drummers Curt Bisquera and Ricky Lawson, and many others. "A
funny thing happens when a person gets a REDDI. It's like a boy
getting his first pocket knife--he has come of age and won't let
anyone touch it. Most of the people I know that have them won't
loan them out. I certainly don't. Even if I go into a studio that's
on lockdown for a week, I'll take it with me when I go. And I even
have another one at home that never goes out--it's just for me.
The REDDI is just that important and integral to everything I do."

Pictured in the Hollywood Hills (L-R) are designer
Vincent van Haaff and contractor Marc Marceill of Marceill Design
and Construction. Photo by David Goggin.

A
staircase tower will function as an oxygen generating greenhouse.
The goal is to make the facility self-sustaining and "off the
grid" in the coming years, by using the latest in photovoltaic
solar energy and grey water/rain water collection systems. The swimming
pool will contain salt water to minimize environmental damage from
chemical runoff and will be self-flushing through the solar heat
collection system that provides radiant heat floors.The thermal
insulation of the house provides acoustical isolation and will result
in one of the most energy efficient structures in Southern California.
Connected to the latest fiber technology and satellite, it is a
music recording space capable of streaming media worldwide.

Alongside platforms
for research and development, standardization and education, METAlliance
also works closely with manufacturers to evaluate and certify products
that offer the highest levels of quality in the recording chain.
To date, only a handful of products have achieved this accolade.

Over 25 years, Focusrite has earned a reputation for bringing
superb audio quality and engineering excellence to an array
of audio professionals. Whether youre looking to preserve
the sound of your classic microphones, or searching for the
perfect front end for your digital studio, the ISA428
MkII brings legendary tools to your studio at an exceptional
new price.

Geoff Daking and Company, Inc. will launch the new Mic Pre
500 single-channel microphone/instrument preamplifier module
at the 129th AES Convention in San Francisco. Derived from
the company's Mic Pre One freestanding unit, the Mic Pre 500
is designed for installation in 500 Series format equipment.
The new mic pre features switchable phase, 20 dB mic input
pad, +48V phantom power, and a selectable quarter-inch line/hi-z
instrument input. Like the Mic-Pre One, the Mic Pre 500 shares
the gain structure and Class A, fully-discrete transistor
circuitry design of Daking's popular Mic Pre IV.
The front panel controls include a variable high-pass filter
(0-200 Hz) as well as continuously variable input gain. It
also includes an eight-segment tri-color LED meter with simultaneous
VU and Peak is included.

For twenty-five
years, engineers and producers the world over have associated
the no-nonsense blue faceplate and white typeface of TUBE-TECH
analog processors with the lush, dimensional sound they impart
to any audio that flows through them. TUBE-TECH president
John G. Petersen continues to craft their equipment with simple,
elegant circuitry using only premium-grade components. From
the start, Petersen designed TUBE-TECH gear using only vacuum
tubes in the active signal path and only transformers on the
inputs and outputs. Since the first the design of the first
Program Equalizer PE 1A in 1985, over 15,000 TUBE-TECH units
have shipped from the headquarters of parent company Lydkraft
in Denmark. Because their lifetimes are measured in decades,
almost every one of those units is still helping make the
music of today sound much better than it would have otherwise.

Before TUBE-TECH became a reality, Petersen had received a
degree in electrical engineering from Danish Post and Telegraph
and took a job in 1972 at the Danish Broadcasting Company
(DBC). In his role as maintenance engineer, he received factory
training at Solid State Logic, EMT, Studer, Sony, Neumann,
NTP, and Lyrec. His genius for inspecting, understanding,
and repairing audio circuits paved the way for TUBE-TECH.
"A friend of mine was opening MOX Studio in Copenhagen
in the mid-1980s," said Petersen. "I helped him
refurbish all of the gear that was going into it, including
two Pultec equalizers. I was skeptical about those boxes.
They looked like they belonged in the city dump! But they
tested nicely and, more importantly, they sounded amazing."

Petersen and others could already see that the demand for
Pultec units was increasing just as their supply was decreasing.
A Denmark-based retailer suggested that it would buy twenty
units, if Petersen could deliver a sonic replica of the Pultec
EQP-1A. Instead, he built thirty, and sent a few of the remaining
stock to a distributor in New York. "They liked them,"
he said. "And they wanted more." For five years,
Petersen worked out of his garage during off hours, still
keeping his day job at DBC. He continued production of the
TUBE-TECH PE 1A, and branched out to design and build the
CL 1A compressor and MP 1A mic-pre/DI. The now famous blue
faceplates were a simple consideration of aesthetics. "It
appeared to me that all of the other manufacturers were building
equipment with black or metal faceplates,"
Petersen remarked. "That seemed boring to me, so I thought:
Let's add some color! And blue is my favorite color, so there
you go."

Around 1990, Petersen shed his DBC job, hired a small team
of exacting technicians, moved out of the garage, and went
after the TUBE-TECH paradigm without distraction. In the two
decades that followed, Petersen has continued to design modern-day
classics. Today, the TUBE-TECH catalog features single-channel
and dual-channel opto compressors (CL 1B and CL 2A); a Fairchild
670 homage (LCA 2B); two stereo multi-band compressors (SMC
2B and SMC 2BM); two parametric equalizers (EQ 1A and EQ 1AM);
a passive midrange equalizer (ME 1B); the now-famous Pultec
replica (PE 1A); a dual-channel mic-preamp and DI (MP 1A);
and a twenty-input stereo summing amplifier (SSA 2B). In addition,
TUBE-TECH offers two recording channel units that combine
preamp, equalization, and compression (MEC 1A) or preamp and
multi-channel compression (MMC 1A), as well as a new RM modular
series that allow users to build custom units that compromise
absolutely nothing in build or sound.

The
ISA microphone preamplifier was first introduced back in
1985. This transformer-based preamplifier formed the first
half of the ISA110 mic pre and EQ module on Focusrite's
critically acclaimed Forté console. This console,
and the later Studio console were hailed by many as the
finest sounding consoles ever built. The ISA microphone
preamplifier went on to form the cornerstone of all ISA
and RED Focusrite products. The topology has never changed,
except for the addition of a variable impedance circuit,
allowing ISA users to either perfectly match the preamp
with any microphone, thus maximizing level, or to use different
settings creatively to shape the sound of the microphone
being used.

Through
all of this, Petersen has never strayed from the core design
principles that went into the original PE 1A. Most obviously,
every piece of TUBE-TECH equipment is centered on vacuum
tubes. "Simply put, tubes sound pleasant to the ear,"
said Petersen. "They treat signals with respect. But
perhaps more profoundly, they place serious constraints
on how much circuitry you can build into a unit. With a
solid-state design, an engineer is free to add circuitry
with very little penalty, which can start you down the road
of 'fixing' perceived faults in the design with even more
circuitry. Unfortunately, the end result is usually something
that sounds worse than if the original circuit had been
improved from the start.
TUBE-TECH equipment has at most six active elements, an
upper limit based on considerations of space and heat. As
a result, I have to design very simple circuits. There is
no 'patch' that I can use to fix a circuit's faults. It
has to stand by itself."

TUBE-TECH's future looks to be as flawless as its past.
Petersen has no plans to build "entry level" equipment,
nor is he looking to invent some unimaginable new paradigm
in analog processing. The company is so successful because
it builds professional-grade equipment of unsurpassed quality
and unquestionable utility, and this is exactly what it
will continue to do into the future.

studioexpresso
Presents Rock, Record and Roll!
A Panel of Audio professionals discuss label-friendly production
trends at NAMM HOT ZONE 2011Friday January 14, 2011 at 1:30 PM

Who gets cool
session gigs and why? When do you need to hire a music arranger?
Why more producers are wearing the A&R hat? What can the right
engineer/mixer do for your session and how to find them? What's
are two of the most significant clauses in an Artist-friendly production
contract? How to spotlight your studio with toys that don't require
mortgaging your house? Hear credited and award-winning music guests
share their take on today's music production trends and offer helpful
suggestions for independent audio professional to stay on top of
their game and grow their business.
Panel will be moderated by Claris Sayadian-Dodge, founder/editor
of studioexpresso, artists gateway to the worlds top
music makers. Panel bios:

Brent
Fischer
music credits are on over 30 million CDs for Pop, R&B and Jazz
royalty such as Usher, Raphael Saadiq, Michael Jackson, Prince,
Al Jarreau, Toni Braxton, Dianne Reeves, and Vanessa Williams, to
name a few.
Brent Fischer has carved a niche in the world of orchestral
arranging, having worked with father, composer/arranger Clare Fischer
for over three decades. Brent Fischer is currently Executive Consultant
at Fame Wizard,
a revolutionary Internet music services company dedicated to independent
artist career development.Brent Fischer is also Director of the
Clare Fischer Bands, which include: The Clare Fischer Big Band,
The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Group, The Clare Fischer Jazz Corps,
a unique 30 piece ensemble, and The Clare Fischer Clarinet Choir.

Simon Phillips is one of the most versatile and respected drummers
today. His prominence as a drummer was established playing and recording
with celebrated artists such Pete Townshend, Toto, Jeff Beck,The
Who, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Stanley Clark, Gil Evans to name but
a few. Phillips stays busy doing sessions and production work in
his studio, Phantom
Recordings. Simon's producing, engineering and mixing credits
include Mike Oldfield, Derek Sherinian, Toto and PSP (Phillips,
Saisse, Palladino).

Brian Malouf
Brian Malouf (Everclear, Michael Franti, and Dave Matthews Band)
is producer and mixer/engineer who has been supporting artists as
A&R for RCA, Columbia, Disney and Bandha, his previous boutique
label. Malouf credits over 50 Gold, Platinum and multi-platinum
albums with millions of dollars in sales. He works from his studio,
Cookie
Jar in Studio City which has hosted artists to include: All
American Rejects, David Usher, Gomez, Angelique Kidjo/Peter Gabriel,
Pussycat Dolls, and Switchfoot.

Rafa
Sardina
is a Los Angeles based Eleven-Time Grammy-winner mixer/engineer
and producer with a versatile skills and eclectic credits to include:
Stevie Wonder, Shakira, Dr. Dre, Luis Miguel, Paco de Lucía,
Sheryl Crow, Beyonce and Alejandro Sanz. Sardina
who works in major studios in LA and abroad, founded Fishbone Music
Productions in 2006 and "Afterhours"
studio in Woodland Hills, CA.

Dean Serwin is a distinguished entertainment attorney practicing
for 20 years in the areas of music, film, television, Internet and
games. A graduate from the UCLA School of Law, Serwin has been involved
with BMI, Capitol Records, the Director's Guild of America, and
several platinum artists including Mick Fleetwood, Everlast and
Selena. Current clients include various artists, writers, composers,
producers, managers, labels, and other creative people and businesses.

Claris
Sayadian-Dodge founded studioexpresso.com
in 2000, a production resource for developing artists. Dodge is
the publisher and chief editor of studioexpresso's monthly eletters
for the recording industry and looks after an Award-winning roster
of producers with the affiliated C Artist Management. Past
positions include: Management III, PMK, Rogers & Cowan Public
Relations, Ocean Way studios, studio bau:ton. Claris is a Grammy
member who sits on the board of AFF Film Foundation.
She has a BA degree in business and continues to create
professional networking events to raise awareness and funds for
art and music education programs and worthy causes.

Watch Video Interviews
with Top producers from Legendary Studios
studioexpresso in alliance with Record Production & Babblefish
is pleased to bring you these interviews. Watch the video interviews
by clicking on the producer names below.Get
your FREE Real One Player downloadMatt Wallace Interviewed At
his Delux Studios in LA for
Record Production
L-R: Producer Matt Wallace, studioexpresso's
Claris Dodge
Photo: Johnny Jaskot

Timeless!
First glance at the life-size cut out of Beatles in the Apple computer
window and you think how "2010" these guys actually look!
Consider the fact that the photo was taken circa 1960s!
Apple says people snapped up more than 450,000 copies of Beatles
albums plus two million individual songs during the Fab Four's first
week on sale through iTunes. Apple Inc. says the best-selling Beatles
album in the U.S. is "Abbey Road," and the best-selling
individual track is "Here Comes the Sun." The Beatles
Box Set, which costs $149, is No. 10 on Apple's weekly iTunes top-10
list. The Beatles' music went on sale on iTunes on Nov. 16. Until
then, the biggest-selling, most influential group in rock history
has been glaringly absent from iTunes and other legal online music
services. Apple struck an agreement after on-and-off negotiations
with the Beatles' recording label, EMI Group, and their management
company, Apple Corps.

Lowlands Away Gets Turner Prize at Tate. Susan
Philipsz became the first sound artist to win Britain's coveted
Turner Prize on Monday, but her acceptance speech at the Tate Britain
gallery was drowned out by noisy protesters opposing cuts to arts
funding. The 45-year-old Scot, the bookmakers' firm favorite to
scoop the 25,000 pound ($40,000) award, said she sympathized with
the demonstrators, who were kept out of sight but not out of earshot
at the London awards ceremony. "It was kind of a surreal experience,"
the soft-spoken Philipsz told reporters in the gallery where her
winning voice installation could be heard in the background. She
recorded herself singing three versions of the 16th-century Scottish
folk song, "Lowlands Away." It was the first time a sound
installation had been shortlisted for the prize since it was set
up in 1984 to promote modern British art. The installation was exhibited
in an otherwise empty gallery. "Drawing on the powerful, immersive
properties of sound and the human voice, Philipsz is engaged with
the notion of singing as a physical and sculptural experience,"
the organizers said in a statement. A youtube post says presumably
you can buy her "work" on CD for £1.99 The prize
is open only to British artists under the age of 50. Prior winners
include well-known British artists Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
Philipsz was up against painter Dexter Dalwood, Angela de la Cruz
and The Otolith Group filmmakers. They would each receive 5,000
pounds ($7,800). The prize is named after esteemed British painter
J.M.W. Turner.A
Vitual tour of Tate Gallery 2010 here!

Dr
Dre's Gear In
2007, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine (U2, Patti Smith, Tom Petty), and Head
Monster, Noel Lee, introduced the world to Beats
by Dr. Dre Studio headphones and forever changed how people
listen to music. On September 29, 2010 Beats and Monster®
changed the game again. It just drives me nuts,
said Iovine in an interview with NY Times. We need a real
file that can capture music the way it was intended to be heard.
Labels have been dumbing down the music for years.Part of
the problem, Mr. Iovine says, is the quality of music found on file-sharing
sites. You download an MP3 file off of LimeWire and it sounds
like its been through a blender, he said. Mr. Iovine
said that Universal Music Group is working with Apple to increase
the quality of the recording it sends to iTunes. An audio
signal is only as good as its weakest link, he said. Among
the new products shown at the news conference was Beats Pro, $450
headphones that sit at the top of Beats product lineup. An
speaker dock for an iPod or iPhone, the Beatbox ($400), was also
shown. In-ear headphones from Beats included the Lebron James-endorsed
Powerbeats ($170), which are designed to stay on during workouts
and the iBeats, $120 earbuds that, conference attendees were told,
were designed (although apparently not priced) to appeal to the
youth market. If that market does not respond well to iBeats, Beats
also has two versions of their headphones (the original Beats Solo,
$200, and the new $120 iBeats) in bright purple. These are called
the JustBeats, where the Just stands for teen sensation
Justin
Bieber, who has also been drafted into the Beats pantheon
(Dr. Dre, Diddy, Gaga, Lebron) of endorsers. Bieber spoke to the
audience by way of prerecorded video, explaining that as a
musician he wanted to make sure his fans heard the emotion
of his music.Watch
the HP ad with DR Dre here

The
53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday,"
Feb. 13, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will
be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on
CBS from 811:30 p.m. (ET/PT). This year's GRAMMY Awards process
registered the highest number of submissions ever with nearly 20,000
entries. Our fave catagory nominees for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
nominees are: Rob Cavallo, Danger Mouse, Dr. Luke, RedOne, and the
Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine). Eminem topped
the nominations with 10; Bruno Mars garnered seven; and Jay-Z, Lady
Antebellum, and Lady Gaga each earned six nods. Jeff Beck, B.o.B,
David Frost, Philip Lawrence, and John Legend received five each;
and Alex Da Kid, the Black Keys, Drake, Cee Lo Green, Ari Levine,
Katy Perry, Rihanna, the Roots, Dirk Sobotka, and Zac Brown each
earned four nominations. "This year's nominations are a true
reflection of an exceptional and talented community of music makers
that embody some of the highest levels of excellence and artistry
in their respective fields," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO
of The Recording Academy. Good luck Grammy
Nominees!

Eminem
Gone Mainstream. It's a sign of how much times have changed,
and Eminem himself, that his leading nominations were not controversial,
but expected and respected. The person with the second-leading tally,
Bruno Mars with seven, was not without his own drama this year,
after getting arrested in Las Vegas for coke possession; his case
is pending. It was the only negative in brilliant year for Mars,
who CO-wrote"(Expletive) You" and was also featured on
B.o.B's "Nothin' On You," also nominated for record of
the year. When Eminem was first nominated for album of the year
some 10 years ago for "The Marshall Mathers LP," it marked
a milestone for the Grammys as it chose to honor an album that was
considered masterful in its artistry yet morally bankrupt in its
values. On
Wednesday, as the Recording Academy once again nominated Eminem
for album of the year along with nine other bids, they again gave
accolades to a foul but genius piece of work - Cee Lo's "(Expletive)
You," an infectious retro groove with an unforgettable, unprintable
chorus. The tune, which is so profane it had to be changed to "Forget
You" for radio play, was nominated for two top Grammy honors:
record and song of the year. "It wasn't meant to be a radio
song," said Cee Lo after the nominations. "It was meant
to be something with flair and first impression and it really took
on a life of its own, and I had no idea it would become what it
is today."

Your
Song 4 A Brand Drop One of the earliest examples of product
placement within a song can be found in Take Me Out to the Ball
Game. Not only did it have its little toy surprise going for
it, Cracker Jack also had a memorable mention in the chorus of this
(now) immortalized melody. Written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and
later scored by Albert Von Tilzer, the chorus goes like this (feel
free to sing along...):
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack...
Ever since Busta Rhymes' Pass the Courvoisier became a hit in 2002causing
sales of the cognac to shoot upartists and marketers had awakened
to the possibilities of "brand drops," to use Kluger's
term. Kluger first got the idea for his company as a high school
student in 1999, when the band LFO released the song Summer
Girls. The chorus repeated the line I like girls that
wear Abercrombie & Fitch, and sales at the apparel chain
increased. How
many kids felt the urge to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch after
hearing that song, as he had? (Abercrombie & Fitch says it didn't
pay for the mention.)
Fast forward 2010 and meet Adam
Kluger (music school drop out), the budding music mogul who
puts the Soda in Pop Songs. Kluger is the founder and CEO of The
Kluger Agency (TKA), a full service non-traditional Advertising
Agency with a focus on strategic partnerships and product placement
within the music industry. TKA handles the needs of both corporations
and artists in house, which allows brands to personally work with
the artist and TKAs award winning creative team to build integrated
advertising campaigns far superior to any other opportunity available
in todays market. Eric
E-Class Prince, chief executive of Poe Boy Music who
represents Flo Rida and other rappers, said he has never heard a
complaint from fans about brand-dropping or music video placements.
Kluger
says he'll reach $5 million in revenue this year with his advertising
co, The Kluger Agency.

Spalding
was nominated for Best New Artist along with Justin Bieber, Drake,
Florence & the Machine, and Mumford and Sons. Her inclusion
in this mainstream category signifies her considerable appeal to
a broad audience. Spaldings most recent release, Chamber Music
Society, is a brilliant marriage of string and jazz trio, and a
showcase for her eclectic sensibilities along with her vocal and
compositional talents. Telarc International and Heads Up International,
divisions of Concord Music Group, received 7 GRAMMY® nominations
in an array of categories including Best New Artist, pop, jazz,
blues and classical. All nominations were for albums released from
September 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.

SESAC
awarded Hillary Scott with top honors at the "SESAC Nashville
Music Awards" when she was named Songwriter Of The Year. Scott,
a member of platinum-selling group Lady Antebellum, also took home
the trophy for Song Of The Year for the smash, "Need You Now."
Publisher of the Year honors went to EMI Foray Music

Robato
Sold Out Concerts! Hatsune Miku has topped the pop charts in
Japan, sold out stadium concerts and become a legitimate cultural
phenomenon. One small detail. Miku doesn't exist -- at least not
in any traditional sense of the word. Miku is a computer-generated
avatar that performs songs with the help of a live band. But unlike
say, Gorillaz, a cartoon band that merely serves as the public face
of an artistic collective, everything about Miku comes from a computer.
She is the product of a company called Crypton Future Media, which
synthesizes Miku's voice using Yamaha's Vocaloid software. Creating
the character -- which appears as a girl with blue pigtails and
a cyberpunk version of the traditional Japanese school-girl uniform
-- was a meticulous process. First, the creators recorded voice
actress Saki Fujita making individual phonetic sounds at a specific
pitch and tone. Then, they recombined the samples and fed them through
the synthesis software to produce an almost endless number of words
and sounds. Users can actually purchase a copy of Miku to run on
their home PCs, and have her perform songs of their own creation.
Despite Miku's availability for private performances on home PCs,
crowds still shell out for live concerts, where Miku is able to
whip her legions of fans into a frenzy (as seen
in the video). At these sold-out shows, Miku is materialized,
so to speak, as a 3-D hologram. She parades and dances around the
stage as she belts out pop-rock songs, while her human band provides
a musical backdrop for her J-Pop crooning.Diller
Deals Accoridng to a Daily Variety report in November, the former
Live Nation Entertainment board chairman Barry Diller has dumped
2.5 million shares of the concert, ticketing and management company's
stock, according to a Nov. 5 Securities and Exchange Commission
filing. Selling at $9.62 per share, Diller -- who held onto just
10,396 shares -- cleared $24.3 million in the transaction. There
are 173.4 million outstanding shares of LNE stock; before the sale,
Diller held approximately 1.4% of those shares. Amid rumors of boardroom
acrimony, Diller, who heads New York-based InterActive Corp., resigned
his LNE board position in September (Daily Variety, Oct. 4). Liberty
Media chairman John Malone was named interim chairman of the board.

Nelly
5.0 Rapper
NELLY launched
his own radio show in November and blames his label for poor sales
of new album. Sources say he'll play the "biggest and best
urban music" in addition to a selection of tracks from his
upcoming album, 5.0. Programme director of Choice, Robert D'Ovidio
says, "We're thrilled to welcome Nelly to the station. This
is the latest in a series of exclusive takeovers on Choice as we
continue to provide our audience with innovative and fresh programming
alongside the urban songs they love." studioexpresso caught
up with Nelly at the Glendale Americana during a brief stop early
December. He spoke about his new album and his radio show. In a
series of posts on his Twitter.com page, Nelly writes, "A record
deal is a 50/50 partnership! As (an) artist it's your job to provide
the record company with music that they (record company) can sell!
Thing about the partnership is that (in) the public eye the responsibility
is not 50/50! The artist is always the 1 who catches 90 per cent
of the blame. When (an) artist doesn't deliver sufficient material
they gets its budget cut for (their) next album or worse dropped
from the label!... Who should be held responsible wen (sic) (an)
artist has a history for selling records so it's not like a new
artist (and) no1 (sic) knows his (or) her name?... "The fact
is that some1 (sic) needs to hold up there (sic) end of the partnership!...
If u (sic) only ship 200thound (200,000 copies) of an album how
many are u f**king tryen (sic) to sell?? The artist does (not) control
that nor does he or she control marketing." Marketeres are
you listening?

artist
expresso-- Ask Claris

We hear from
artists every day from all corners of the world -- France, Germany,
Russian, Israel, Asia, Australia and Middle East asking how they
can get heard or build their careers. We've decided to feature a
letter or phone message each month and share our response with other
new artists with similar needs or questions. Our goal remains to
empower new artists and encourage them to find their voice and musical
path. Most importantly, we're here to remind artists that it's a
long journey, so enjoy the process. We encourage artists to provide
a link to their music site when they contact us..this way, if a
producer or manager is interested, they can be contacted directly.

Artist:My name is DiDi,
a pop singer, originally from Bulgaria but living in Queens, NY.
This is my official website: didi-music.com
Music is my life! My mother always said to her: "You are only
as big as your dreams are". I wanted to ask if I have your
permission because I'd like to send you a press kit via mail. Please
get back to me if you have any questions or further requests. Thank
you for your time!

C:Hi Didi, Your mother is right! Thanks for your interest
in studioexpresso. We facilitate production by hire and can suggest
producers or mixers/engineers, when you're ready to go in the studio
- the following is needed before we can proceed:
1. Number of songs 2. timeline - delivery date 3. budget Repertoire
(songs) is usually discussed during pre-production phase (after
you've chosen a producer and mutually agreed to production terms).
Best always. studioexpressoMeantime,
visit production
talent at studioexpresso We can recommend someone who fits
your requirements or you may send your top 3 choice(s). Thanks.

Morrison
Pardoned 39 Years Later Jim Morrison, the long-dead and much-mourned
lead singer of the rock group The Doors, was pardoned Thursday for
a 1969 indecent exposure conviction There was no evidence that linked
Morrison to the incident and just one eye witness that would eventually
recant her testimony before the trial ever began. Yet the court
ruled that he was guilty and sentenced him to six months in jail.
He would never serve the sentence as he was freed to appeal the
conviction. Outgoing Florida governor Charlie Crist started reviewing
the case for a possible pardon he was surprised at how sneaky and
underhanded the prosecution and courts had been at the time.I
Say A Little Prayer For You. The 68-year-old Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin's is "doing better than doctors expected"
and plans to be released from the hospital soon. Cousin Brenda Corbett
tells the Detroit Free Press that Franklin "has a long life
in front of her and will be back in concert, on stage, late spring
or early summer." Franklin announced last week that she had
undergone a surgical procedure for pancreatic cancer. Franklin has
won eighteen (18) Grammy Awards in total during her nearly half-century
long career (she first charted in 1961) and holds the record for
most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance awards with eleven to
her name (including eight consecutive awards from 1968 to 1975 
the first eight awarded in that category).

Farewell
to A FriendA
Good Life. At 97, DR J. Michael Hagopian was planning
to direct two films (one about a family in India, scheduled for
filming in January 2011). He was also scheduled to meet his favorite
director Steve Spielberg at a dinner before his sudden death last
week. Michael inspired us with his determination and passion for
history, justice and human rights. On April 13, Spielberg's USC
Shoah Foundation Institute signed an historic agreement with
Dr. Hagopian and the Armenian Film Foundation. The agreement paves
the way for the preservation and dissemination of the largest archive
of filmed interviews with survivors of and witnesses to the First
Genocide of 20th Century. The two organizations will work together
to make approximately 400 testimonies of Armenian Genocide survivors
and witnesses available for educational purposes through the Shoah
Foundation Institutes Visual History Archive.